Asaf Leshem*
Received: September 2013 | Accepted: November 2013
Abstract
When guiding in Berlin about the Holocaust or about the Cold War, tour guides oen hear the phrase: “I didn’t come here for that, but I want to see that as well…” Many of Berlin’s 10 Million visitors per year claim to have an aracion towards both the morbid and the ligher side of the ciy. Following rom that popular seniment it is argued that Berlin can be deined as a Parial Dark Tourism Desinaion. As such, it is further argued that Berlin is prone to an increase of socio-economic and socio-cultural nega-ive impacts. he premise of the research is that Berlin’s tour guides funcion as a link between the res-idents of the ciy and the visitors. he thesis, then, is that tour guides play a role and can conribue to development of social, cultural and economic urban tourism susainabiliy.
An analysis of tourism impacts and tourists-residents relaions is presened, in which the tour guide plays a role in inluencing the visitor’s behaviour. I conclude that tour guides have greaer inluence on social, cultural and economic behaviour of the tourist than previously considered, and therefore a poenial to enhance susainable tourism development in Berlin. he signiicance of this research is in the way it points out to the roles Berlin tour guides play in faciliaion of susainable tourism develop-ment in the ciy. Furthermore, the research shows the ways in which tour guides conribue to increas-ing responsible tourist behaviour.
Key words: Berlin, susainabiliy, tour guides, dark tourism
Introduction
he development of Berlin into the fastest growing tourist desinaion in Europe (Dreger, 2013) has largely to do with its dark past. Tweny three years ater the fall of the Berlin Wall and the reuniicaion of the ciy, ravellers of all kinds tesify to their need to learn about the ciy’s Nazi past and of course of its ime divided by two walls with a Death Srip between them. When guiding in Berlin about the Holocaust or about the Cold War, tour guides oten hear the phrase: “I didn’t come here for that, but I want to see that as well…”
in a Partial Dark Tourism Destination
his combinaion of leisure fun aciviies with learning of local historical events is what I deine here as Parial Dark Tourism Desinaion. As such, Berlin is not only suscepible to the common social conlicts of many more experienced urban desinaions, but also to socio-cultural negaive impacts of tourism.
Dark Tourism, a phenomenon explained by Lennon and Foley (2000) as tourists visit-ing sites associated with war, genocide, assassinaion and other ragic events. In most cases remembrance and educaion provide moivaion for visitors to ravel oten great distances to dark tourism desinaions. Berlin, as argued above, is a Parial Dark Tourism Desinaion, thus making it useful for understanding of the tourist tendency to blend pleasure (e.g. going to clubs and shows) with the aracion to morbid (going to tours or museums depicing the darker parts of Berlin’s history, i.e. the ruling years of the Nazis and later the DDR).
With the green ‘enlightenment’ of the past 40 years, ravellers and tourism researchers start-ed being intereststart-ed not just in the posiive economic impacts of the tourism indusry, but also in the indusry’s negaive impacts. Since Héctor Ceballos-Lascuráin irst coined the term Ecotour-ism in 1983, many scholars followed with further debates and deiniions, expanding the ield into tourism which takes place in urban areas and to more ypologies of tourism. Weaver (1998) and Fennell (1999) were of the irst to expend the quesions of tourism impact beyond nature areas, shiting the debate rather to the impacts of the indusry on ive ields: environment, econ-omy, sociey, culture and educaion. he later, although not included in all sustainable and ecot-ourism deiniions is especially perinent with regards to the niche of dark tecot-ourism.
he hypotheses of this research is that A. tour guides can convey, monitor and role-mod-el appropriate visitor behaviour (i.e. inspire social sustainabiliy); B. tour guides can increase visitors’ enjoyment of the desinaion; C. tour guides can inluence economic behaviour of the visitor; D. inally, through interpretaion, tour guides can expose the visitor to diferent socio-cultural and historical angles the visitor was previously unaware of.
his research was intended as a preliminary study meant to achieve two goals. he irst goal was – following the hypotheses presented above – to ind out answers to the follow-ing quesions: In what ways Berlin tour guides play a role in facilitaion of sustainable ism development? And in what ways tour guides conribute to increasing responsible tour-ist behaviour in Berlin? Using the results, the second goal was the ind out the relevance and usabiliy of such research in order to jusify the research and wriing of a PhD thesis.
In addiion to eighteen museums focusing on diferent parts of the ciy’s history, hundreds of tour guides work in the ciy. In the past three years, researchers started exploring the con-necion between tour guides, desinaion interpretaion and sustainable tourism development. In developing a ramework for sustainable interpreive guiding, Hu and Wall (2012) sug-gested that tour guides have the opportuniy to teach local history and customs, thus con-ribute to promoion of sustainabiliy. Similarly, Bey Weiler (Weiler, Kim, 2011; Weiler, 2013) argued that tour guides have the potenial to communicate and role model
sustainabil-iy, including mediaing between local residents and visitors.
Tour guides are expected to porray its history to the visitors, with all its inrinsically cultur-ally sensiive informaion. In some cases the showing of the ciy’s recent history can be directly ofensive to residents who experienced events in real ime. One such example is the Trabbi Safari. he name alone brings to mind an animal Safari in a nature reserve the likes of the Masai Mara
age where they already formulated an opinion of Berlin and of Germans (past and present), the argument here is that tour guide have great power in inluencing people’s percepions using historical telling rom one or more angles.
Sustainability in the context of urban tourism
In preparaions for this study the author spoke to people who never studied ecotourism/sus-tainable tourism to ry to see what it means to them. Answered quickly, most people said that, rom general knowledge, sustainable tourism had something to do with environmental impacts and with economic impacts. Although this is not incorrect, this public percepion is lacking in the context of the high-speed tourism development of Berlin. It therefore requires focusing of the issues. In the following secion the author explored speciic situaions within the context of sustainable urban tourism development in Berlin.
Perhaps the greatest socio-economic conlict accompanying tourism growth is seen with locals being aware of the negaive impacts of the indusry without being able to correlate increased visitor numbers with posiive impacts. In July 2012 more than one million peo-ple visited Berlin, with its populaion of 3.3 Million (Amt für Staisik Berlin Branden-burg, 2013). Staisics shows that this rend is only likely to grow. Although many in the ciy are directly employed in the tourism indusry, others cannot see the immediate bene-its that tourism and the tourists bring to the ciy, such as taxes collected rom tourism used for improvement of inrasructure. For example, an oice worker who lives in Wedding and works in Potsdamer Platz might only noice the longer ime it take them to get to work in the tourist season, but will not receive any higher salary in this ime. In other words, econom-ic gains rom tourist aciviy are not felt by all residents of the ciy irstly because they do not beneit directly and secondly because such macro-economic aciviy (E.g. consrucion of beter roads) is not perceived as a result of gains made rom tourism.
disrupt-ing road work. While the necessiy of these changes is not disputed by local people, wiggldisrupt-ing around between hundreds of consrucion sites antagonises drivers who feel that the work is done due to constant increase in tour buses appearing in the ciy.
Improvement of urban inrasructures is relaively easy to jusify. Local people argue that in the summer months it is diicult to commute in the ciy. Furthermore, many people claim they can no longer aford to live in the ciy cenre due to the conversion of many hous-es to holiday apartments for tourists. he topic of genriicaion in the cenral boroughs of Berlin is a much debated one and is oten in the public discourse. Nevertheless it is men-ioned here only briely as it is not in the focus of this study. It is indirectly related due to increased antagonism of old and new Berliners. I argue here that with increased negaive feelings towards the tourists, people have hard ime to disinguish between issues that tour-ists cannot conrol, to behaviours, which can be changed.
Many authors have argued that tourism can also bring such posiive economic gains to local communiies and improvement of condiions (see for example Weaver, 1998, Fennell, 1999). If in the past tourists uses to shop mainly in the famous Ku’Damm Avenue of the west, today businesses in many other boroughs of the ciy can beneit rom the enormous rise in visitor numbers. In a hybrid ciy of capitalist and socialist systems some of the older Berlin-ers argue that the ciy is rapidly losing its unique character; becoming too “Americanized”. On the other hand, many former East German ciizens proclaim saisfacion with the con-stant building of new shopping malls. Further criique comes rom those businesses who sill feel that economic gains rom tourism are kept to a relaively small amount of hotels, restau-rants and other tourist aracions.
he number of arrivals and departures rom Berlin airports is another sensiive and vastly debated issue in Berlin, albeit again, not directly related to this study. he ciy has been ry-ing to close down the funcionry-ing and widely loved Tegel Airport. However, the buildry-ing of the new BER Airport, which is supposed to be able to handle 27 Million passengers per year (Flughafen Berlin Brandenburg, 2013), is delayed. In the meanime, one of the many delays is caused by the public debate about the noise levels and hours of light. Once more, the con-stant rise in visitor numbers, greatly sought ater by the poor ciy authoriies, is not equally desired by locals living in and around future light routes.
Portrayal of dark tourism and the effect on tourist-resident relations
Methods and Data
Over the last four years the author has been working as a tour guide. As such I have been observing tourism and tourist aciviy in Berlin and the surrounding (including Dresden, Leipzig, Potsdam, and the memorial site for the concenraion camp Sachsenhausen). In the process of raining, during seminar days or museum excursions, and to maintain qualiy, guides oten observe the work of other guides within their respecive companies. his meth-od of working came to be very useful in giving the research subjects a wider perspecive to respond on work observed other than their own.
Data was collected in three ways: (1) When possible, conversaions with guides dur-ing cofee breaks and in meedur-ing points. (2) To supplement the irst, quesions were sent to guides through emails. (3) In some cases, quesions were asked using online chats.
his also allowed the interviewees to respond in their own convenience, and to have a ‘conversaion like’ interview. In support of this Meho (2006) argued in favour of email inter-views. He suggests that E-mail interviewing brings the advantage that the researcher can reach research subjects who otherwise would not be available (due to distance or geograph-ical remoteness).
However, email interviews are not without limitaions. For one, it lacks visual or non-verbal cues. Furthermore, when answering emails the interviewee may have ime to consider their response, review it, and answer what they think is the required answer (ibid.). To some extent online chaing solves a couple of potenial interview obstacles. Like email interviews it does not require the interviewer and interviewee to be in the same room (or the same coninent for that mater). Moreover, unlike email interviews, chaing interviews are conducted in real ime, thus permiing a conversaion like interview that is as close as possible to a face-to-face interview. Chaing interviews, though, are simi-larly limited in the sense that they do not allow the interviewer to probe the interviewee’s body language and facial expressions; the very thing that is the advantage of face to face in-depth interviews.
As a preliminary study, part of the aim of the interview was to establish if the tour guides and other tourism stakeholders would ind the research problems relevant to their work and to sustainabiliy of tourism in Berlin more generally. For this, interviewees provided not just detailed answers, but further coloured their answers with examples and anecdotes as to why they do what they do and how. Some of these anecdotes are brought here as ethnographic descripions, through which an analysis of the research quesion is achieved.
Results
Guiding Dark Tourism
More than half of the guides reported that they tell their customers if what they say is their own private opinion, albeit in a casual way without necessarily emphasising it. Two thirds of the guides interviewed said that they do not explain every historiographical research limita-ion. However, if there is a conroversy about the topic, historical indings or accepted theo-ries, then they tell about it.
the allies did not bomb army targets they sill received the rare reacion that “they [the Ger-mans] deserved it!”, to which one guide replied that the ire storm could not disinguish between Nazis and ani-Nazis. Nevertheless, most guides concluded that it is more impor-tant for them not to risk antagonising the tourists.
An interesing story told by an experienced guide: “when standing near what use to be Hitler’s bunker many tourists ask me quesions like: did Hitler have any Jewish blood in him? Was he gay? hese are all easy to deal with; I ind if one sicks to what we do know and don’t ry to embellish, then your credibiliy is respected”.
A common occurrence has been ideniied by Israeli tour guides when bringing groups to the Vila where the Wannsee Conference took place. he guides reported that when leaving the museum, while walking to the exit, tourists always asked the same quesion: “how can you live here?!” [in Berlin]. he guides felt they were put on the spot defending something which has litle to do with what the tourist saw and read in the museum. he quesion the guides posed was what answer am I supposed to give the tourist knowing the sensiive psy-chological state they are in right ater leaving the museum?
In terms of educaion as part of the visitor’s tourist experience it is worthwhile to briely look at the level of knowledge visitors arrive with. Tour guides said they consider the accu-racy of her the informaion given to their tourists according to how knowledgeable they are to begin with. Accordingly, if the tourists are ‘stupid looking’ they will not disinguish between facts and research problems, nor will they raise challenging philosophical ques-ions. In such case then, they only tell the tourists “what we know for sure”.
In other cases tourists oten proclaim higher than basic knowledge of the Holocaust or of East German imes. heir stated goal is to deepen their knowledge of the historical era they are inter-ested in. Unanimously, all guides said that in that case they feel pressure to bring more historical facts than the tourist knows. For guides, this is also a good thing, as they are happy to hear ‘good quesions’ in a tour, consequently bringing the analysis and discussion in a tour to a higher level.
In many cases this ype of tourist are of an older age, and, as guides suggested, mix emo-ions with facts. Several of the guides interviewed said that with such tourists they face the challenge of being sensiive to their customer’s feelings and at the same ime staying rue to what they know, even if the facts are not so pleasant to hear. A common example is the ques-ion asked by many tourists: “why the German people didn’t resist the Nazis?” One guide explained: I can of course feed their prejudice and say something like “Germans are disci-plined and are not in the habit of resising their governments”, or even suggest that they all supported the Nazis. However, I usually prefer to “make life diicult for them [the tourists]” by presening facts and numbers, then ask them what they would have done if they were ciizens of a totalitarian state which kills people who protect its persecuted minoriies? he guide added that “I never tell them what I would have done, nor that I want them to tell me the answer, only that it’s important to think about that”.
Guides responding on teaching local customs and social values
tour-ists rom drivers, who on their part are angry with tourtour-ists walking around oblivious to their surroundings (Urry, 2002). Protecing the tourists was the irst thing that most guides said.
As for bicycle lanes, here I vocalise the imporance of saying of them because of the safey of my customers. I think it’s imporant to point out cultural nuances, and that our customers will ind it very ineresing. Having said that, I never ried to ‘each’ or push local cultural elements.
At best, cyclists – who oten race thought the ciy’s long avenues at top speed – are annoyed by tourists “walking with their heads to the sky”. A worst scenario is an accident that can be caused when tourists are not aware of the special lanes.
Another common cultural misunderstanding takes place on the rain plaform of the many busy staions of the ciy. Whereas mostly it can be said that it is cultural knowledge in Berlin to wait for people to leave the rain before entering, visitors rom counries with-out similar public ransport system are oten seen standing at the doors creaing congesion and delays. A short clariicaion can solve this and increase visitor enjoyment of the desina-ion. When, in some of the interviews, this issue came up, guides usually said that it would be a smart thing to do; regrefully, though, they cannot always explain that in ime because of pracical reasons.
I alk about cultural elements but unfortunaely I don’t each everything I would like to each (for example how to ip waiing saf in Berlin). I someimes hint something, which they normally don’t undersand…
Tipping is another local customs that is quite diferent rom many other counries in the world. In Berlin is it not customary to leave a ip for waiters on the table when walking out of the restaurant. Instead, diners ip directly to their waiter or wairess thanking them with the amount they want to ip (depending on weather they were happy with the service or not). It is likely that most service staf are aware of this cultural diference and are therefore not too bothered by it. Nevertheless, they appreciate it when tourists respect the local custom. In a recent tour this was explained to the tourists who ofered their own criique: ipping directly, they said, would make them feel awkward, as if they give money to a servant. Hav-ing said, they were happy to learn somethHav-ing new about the local culture.
Conclusion
Berlin, as a parial dark tourism desinaion is at high vulnerabiliy to various sorts of neg-aive impacts of the tourism indusry. By relaing informaion tour guides already funcion as a link to sustainable urban tourism development in Berlin. However, as tesiied by the guides themselves, any iniiaive done is done as part of their own personal guiding syle.
words, and more speciically, a research that will focus solely on the topic of porrayal and interpretaion of historical events in Berlin and other dark tourism desinaions.
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